Metrum Acoustics Onyx DAC
With the goal of creating a very affordable, yet superior DAC in mind the designers of Metrum Acoustics have developed a new DAC, the ONYX By Metrum Acoustics.
It was an unprecedented challenge, which was eventually solved by using an entirely new chip, which has been exclusively developed by Metrum Acoustics and was first used in the PAVANE.
The parallel driven R2R ladder networks as used in the four DAC modules performs , especially when combined with our FPGA-driven “forward correction module”, on a higher level. This module splits up the audio samples for each channel into new separate data streams. Each dac cluster processes a portion of the data in the most linear region of the dac chips. The result of this process is an extremely high linearity, right down to -140 dB, which gives the ONYX a realistic 24 bit dynamic range. Due to the dual mono design over the entire frequency range an extremely high channel separation of 120 dB is realized. This contributes to the flawless positioning of instruments.
Metrum Acoustics Onyx
Working principle
balanced Digital to Analog Converter
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24 bits non oversampling
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Forward correcting technology
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2x DAC TWO modules per channel
Power
15 VA toroidal transformers
Mains voltage
110/115V AC 220/230V AC 60/50Hz
Input
1x optical, 1x AES/EBU 1x coaxial and USB
Output
RCA : 1x stereo pair single ended
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1x stereo pair XLR balanced
Frequency response
1Hz – 20 khz -1dB. 44.1 kHz sampling
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1Hz – 65 kHz -1dB .192 kHz
Distortion
0.006 % THD
Noise floor
-145 dB related to 2 Volt RMS
Output impedance
RCA 100 Ohm
.
XLR 100 Ohm
Sampling rate
Optical 44.1 – 96 kHz
.
Coax and AES/EBU 44.1 -192 kHz
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USB 44.1 -384 kHz
Output Voltage
RCA Max. 2 Volts RMS
.
XLR Max 4 Volts RMS
Dimensions
290 x 250 x 60 mm
Weight
3.1 kg
In short, the ONYX is a DAC that has taken all the lessons and experiences that her designer has learned over the years, and combined them in an ambitious DAC that can fit in every system. It is musical, honors the Non-oversampling principle while simultaneously incorporating the technological progress that has been made over the years.